Spanish broom - varieties are yellow and red and purple. A big bush, it blooms in spring and has small leaves. Yellow, the old variety, covers itself in yellow blooms. It's a low-water plant.

Summer to fall bloomers

glossy abelia - (Abelia Grandiflora), an evergreen that blooms white flowers in summer; a shade lover that is not hardy in cold north winds

butterfly bush - comes in several colors and blooms all summer if kept dead-headed. A hardy plant with minimal pest problems and attractive to butterflies.

hardy hibiscus - a tender shrub that dies back to the ground each year. Plant in early spring. They require protection in wintertime.

spirea - most common variety: white, bridal wreath, Van Houttei variety, blooms in early summer or late spring; blue-mist spirea, a drought-tolerant variety, has blue blossoms from summer through fall.

chitalpa - in desert willow family, produces trumpet-looking blooms. It gets large, and blooms shed onto yard. Plant where mower can help with shedding problem. Prune to shrub or small tree.

red yucca - sends up red bloom in mid-summer to early fall. Needs full sun and low-water.

Rose of Sharon - blooms from early summer to fall. It comes in a variety of colors in single or double blooms. Grows up to 12 feet tall. It has minimal pest problems.

crape myrtle - available in several colors, most in the pinkish-purple ranges. They like hot sun, southern exposure is ideal. It blooms from mid-summer to frost. May freeze back to the ground in bad winters. Some varieties hardier.

Natives or low-water need shrubs

apache plum - white flower, seed pod and feathery plum

desert willow - small tree or shrub, large snapdragon-type flower in various colors.

vitex - lilac-type bloom

rabbit bush - yellow bloom

native sages - round bushy plant; bloom, but not significant.

santolina - grayish and greenish varieties, small roundish plant with yellow bloom, more attractive for shape and color than blossom.

Most flowering shrubs bloom in spring or summer. A few for our area are fall bloomers.

Starting with location, shrubs may start out small, but most need plenty of growing room, said Brian Bellinghausen, owner of Brian's Yard Consultations.

Most flowering shrubs spread from 4 to 8 feet across and from 4 to 10 feet tall, Bellinghausen said. Some get larger.

"The point is, they, generally, are planted too close to the house and too close to the fence," Bellinghausen said.

Shrubs always need to be at least 18 inches from a fence and up to 3 feet, depending on the type of shrub. A snowball bush, for example, needs 3 feet or more because it gets so large.

"If you don't do that, they are top-heavy and will want to lean away from the house or fence," Bellinghausen said.

And most shrubs can be planted in spring or in fall, according to experts.

Mitch Miller, a member of the Potter/Randall County group of Texas Master Gardeners, said that fall, generally, is the best time to plant for most of our shrubs.

"Most nurseries don't carry a lot of plants in the fall because the general population likes to plant in the spring," Miller said.

Delicate Bloom: Rose of Sharon grows to shrub size and adapts well to our area, especially in hot sun. This one was blooming in the 3000 block of South Harrison Street.

Robert Mulherin / rmulherin@amarillonet.com

But more selections are available now in the fall than in years past.

People still think more of planting in springtime, and gardeners will find the best selection of in-stock shrubs ready for planting in April and May, said Jim Reid, owner of Coulter Gardens and Nursery.

Sun and shade requirements also play key roles in deciding what and where to plant.

With only a few exceptions, most shrubs require at least a half-day of sun, Bellinghausen said. So the north side of a house or areas shaded by trees are harder to work with.

On the other extreme, Rose of Sharon and crape myrtle require the most sun, Bellinghausen said.

Water needs come into play as people consider planting shrubs. People can select xeriscape or drought-tolerant varieties or shrubs that require more water. Whichever choice gardeners make, the shrub needs to be adjacent to plants with similar water needs, Miller said.

"Our biggest, biggest problem is over-watering," Reid said.

Rich Summer Color: Butterfly bush, which has varieties with several colors of blooms, draws butterflies to the yard in the summertime.

Robert Mulherin / rmulherin@amarillonet.com

Shrubs don't need as much water as most grassy areas, so anyone who has a sprinkler without a separate timer for flower beds is likely to over-water the shrubs.

Sprinklers spraying onto leaves also cause leaves to burn and turn brown because of the chlorine in the area's water.

"Either have a sprinkler system without mulch, or mulch and no sprinkler system, other than on a separate system," Reid said.

When planting, soak the ground around the shrubs, then let them dry out before watering again, he said.

To plant shrubs, Miller recommends digging a hole twice the size of the pot, and amending soil. But he keeps 80 percent native soil and 20 percent amended soil.

"If you put too many amendments in soil, you create a little pot, and the roots don't want to go out of that pot. You want to keep those roots penetrating out into native soil."

Generally, spring blooming shrubs, like forsythia, should be pruned after they bloom; summer bloomers can be pruned in late winter or early spring, Reid said.

People should check the information tag when buying the plant to learn about the proper time to prune, watering requirements and other vital information. Either keep those tags or transfer the information into a notebook for reference, he said.

Several native or low-water-use shrubs provide variety and color to landscapes, Miller said.

Canyon's Edge Nursery specializes in xeriscape plants and other local nurseries are starting to carry more of the specialty plants. Also, people can find them through catalog orders.